Minister Bennett says national opioid crisis plan to be informed by proposals in B.C.

published on November 19, 2021 by Erika Ibrahim in Yahoo News Canada

OTTAWA — Canada’s new minister of mental health and addictions says she is very interested in proposals from British Columbia on how to proceed with a plan for addressing the opioid crisis.

Asked about specifically when action will be taken, Carolyn Bennett did not respond directly,but said her meetings on Thursday with the B.C. Centre on Substance Use and on Friday with her B.C. counterpart, Sheila Malcolmson, would be key to finding an approach toward providing a safe supply of the drug alongside decriminalizing possession.

She said the federal government has an obligation to listen to those on the front lines of the crisis and respond appropriately.

“We don’t want to do anything that makes things worse, that recriminalizes people,” said Bennett in an interview Thursday…